One of the five Gordon Murray S1 LM hypercars is set to go under the hammer with RM Sotheby’s during the Las Vegas Grand Prix weekend, and the automotive world is watching closely. This is more than a sale. It is the debut moment of Gordon Murray Special Vehicles, the ultra-bespoke sister outfit to Gordon Murray Automotive. The “S1” stands for “Special One” and the “LM” honors Le Mans, with the car conceived as a road-legal tribute to the 1995 McLaren F1 GTR Le Mans winner and the iconic F1 LM that followed.
All five of the Gordon Murray S1 LM hypercars were originally commissioned and customized by a single mystery billionaire who secured the entire production run for himself. The car crossing the block is not an allocation from Gordon Murray or a late production slot. It is one of that private collection of five, released to RM Sotheby’s as the only opportunity for someone outside that circle to join this story. That creates built-in mythology before the technical specifications are even discussed.
The engineering is a modern expression of Murray’s pure driving philosophy. The car features a bespoke 4.3-liter naturally aspirated GMA Cosworth V12 that produces more than 700 horsepower and revs to 12,100 rpm. The engine is solid-mounted for unfiltered response, and the exhaust system uses Inconel with 18-karat gold heat shielding.
The power goes to the rear wheels through a six-speed manual gearbox derived from the T.50 program but tuned specifically for the S1 LM. With a target weight of just 957 kilograms, the car achieves a power-to-weight ratio beyond both the McLaren F1 LM and the T.50, delivering a driving experience that feels like a fantasy continuation of the original F1 era.
The layout remains unmistakably Murray. A central driving position places the driver ahead of two flanking passenger seats. The carbon body has a coke-bottle profile, a roof intake, quad central exhausts, and a split wing inspired by the 1990s Le Mans program. The focus is on timeless, purposeful form rather than theatrical hypercar excess.
The decision to auction the car during the Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix weekend is intentional. The event draws the same ultra-high-net-worth crowd that views cars as cultural assets, not machines. The city creates a stage where competition, prestige, and visibility all peak at once. At an amfAR charity gala, in a room filled with collectors accustomed to making statements, the atmosphere encourages a bidding war driven by pride, rarity, and the chance to participate in automotive history. In this environment, a price above $20 million does not seem inflated. It seems inevitable.
What the buyer receives is not just the car. The winning bidder will sit with Gordon Murray and Dario Franchitti to specify the build and participate in development sign-off, recreating the original McLaren F1 customer experience. For collectors who understand legacy, that is the true value.
